


Luna Goodwin

by Marniekarms



Category: New Amsterdam (TV 2018)
Genre: Adoption, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, Step-parents, damfam, luna loves helen, noncanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marniekarms/pseuds/Marniekarms
Summary: Various scenes from various moments in the life of the Luna Goodwin about the people that she loves, and the people that love her.
Relationships: Lauren Bloom/ Floyd Reynolds mentioned, Luna Goodwin & Helen Sharpe, Max Goodwin & Helen Sharpe, Max Goodwin/Helen Sharpe
Comments: 14
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting on here! It has been a long time since I've written any type of fanfic, but this idea would not go away so here you go! Also apologies for typos.

“Daddy stop looking at mummy and look at me!” The demandingly cute child whined from behind her sheet of paper. She was dressed in her pajamas with her wet hair combed back after being washed. Luna had started pre-kindergarten two weeks ago and had come home very excited to show off her first “assignment”. Her teachers had helped her fill in an “About Me” worksheet with prompted questions and had transcribed Luna’s answers.

The little girl clambered up on the couch in the space between Helen and Max. Sitting up on her knees she gave Max a kiss on the cheek and gave him the paper before scooting back to sit in Helen’s lap. Carding a hair through the child’s messy hair, Helen smirked and pressed a kiss to her temple before admonishing her lightly. The young Goodwin was the spitting image of Georgia, but she had inherited so much of Max’s demanding personality.

“Luna you know that is not the way to get our attention.” Helen made sure that she held eye contact with the girl as she said it.

“Sorry mummy.” And for what it was worth she did look genuinely sorry. “I just wanted to show you my work. My teacher said that it was really good and that you would love it. She even drew a smiley on it.”

“A star student? You must get that from mummy.” The corners of Max’s eyes crinkled after he made the remark; looking at two of his favorite girls in the entire world giggling at each other. His other favorite girl was sleeping upstairs with her twin brother who they had just managed to get down. And now less than a full ten minutes later Luna had run to her room to get her paper from her backpack and come back to them. Running a hospital and having this family were chaotic, but Max wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Please read it daddy.” Luna requested with a yawn. Helen wrapped her arms around the little body in her lap.

Clearing his throat for dramatic effect, and to earn an eye roll from his wife, Max began.

“My name is Luna Georgia Goodwin. I am 4. I have blue eyes, freckles, and blonde hair. I like when mummy puts it in pigtails with bows. My daddy is named Dr. Goodwin at work, but mummy calls him Max. My mummy’s name is Dr. Sharpe at work, but daddy calls her Helen. They both are doctors at New Amsterdam and I like when I visit them at work.

I like to have dance parties with daddy and when he takes me for ice cream. I like when mummy plays dress up tea with me and reads bedtime stories with me. I have a mommy named Georgia. I grew in her belly. I visit her grave sometimes and leave pretty flowers. I have a new brother and sister. They are cuties and they are very small. My brother is named Dexter and he likes it when I sing to him. My sister’s name is Yara and I like to help mummy pick out her clothes. They don’t do much because they are so little. They usually just cry and sleep.  
Sometimes I help feed them and play with them. They give good hugs and kisses. 

I love being a big sister. The babies are little though so they can’t play all the time. But when they are bigger I will play with them. They grew in mummy’s tummy and she reads them bedtimes stories too. So, she is their mummy and their mommy. Also, I want a puppy but daddy says that we have to wait. So, I play with the puppy at Aunt Winnie and Uncle Odie’s house. But once the babies are bigger I will get a puppy of my own.”

“It looks like you went a little off script there at the end Lu.” Max laughed as he set the paper down and reached out for her. She went willingly into his arms as he placed a kiss on her cheek. “You’ll have to be happy with playing with Goose when you are at Lauren and Floyd’s for a little bit longer.”

“Did you like it mummy?” Luna questioned, pushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. Then a thoughtful look crossed her face. “I also said that Yara and Dex look more like you and that I look more like my mommy. But that’s because they grew in your tummy and I grew in her’s. But you will still be their mummy too, right? Because you read to them like you read to me. And you love us all the same, right? They aren’t going to have a different mummy? I don’t want them to leave.”

“Oh Luna.” A pained look crossed Helen’s face. Explaining the concept of death to a four-year-old was hard, no matter how smart the child was. And while Luna had done a good job of understanding Georgia and who she is to her, Iggy had brought up that the addition of the twins would most likely result in Luna having to learn how to “regroup” her familial relationships. “I love each and every one of you as much as my heart can love. Your brother and sister are not going anywhere. And you, me, daddy, Yara, and Dexter are all going to be a family.” This seemed to assuage Luna’s worry as she let a small smile grace her face.

“Daddy, I’m happy that we all found each other.” 

“Me too, Lu.”


	2. Luna's First Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the kudos and comments! Another little snippet popped in my head. I have a guilty pleasure for babies with smash cakes.

“Lulu look at the camera!” Max called from behind his phone. The baby was sitting in her high chair with a cupcake and an adorable birthday hat that Helen had brought over. It was Luna’s first birthday and Max had invited over Helen, Floyd, Lauren, Vijay, and Iggy to celebrate with them that night. Max and Georgia’s parents were coming in this weekend to spend time with the baby, and Georgia’s sister had been in town the previous weekend with her family. Early this morning before work Max had packed up all of Luna’s things to take her to the graveyard. They had sat in front of Georgia’s grave just talking to her for about an hour. Well mainly Max talking. But Luna’s baby babble was turning into more words as of late and so she chimed in with her own name and a ‘dada’ and even a ‘mama’ when Max prompted her. Looking around at all of the people smiling at his little girl, and the pile of letters sitting on their counter, Max felt a bittersweet rush that Georgia wasn’t here.

He had managed to create a little village to help raise his little girl. And by the look on her smiling face as Helen tried to make sure that Luna didn’t touch the fire, he could tell Luna knew she was loved.

“Blow it out Lu.” Helen goaded the little girl as she mimed blowing the candle. Luna was holding Helen’s fingers in her tight little fists as she flapped her arms around her head in glee. Much like her father, the baby did not shy away from attention. 

“Ennie!” Luna laughed as she said her version of Helen’s name. 

“Yes Lu. Blow out your candle baby.” Helen mimed it a few more times and then Luna caught on and blew at the single candle sitting in her cupcake. Everyone clapped for the baby, and Luna let go of Helen’s hands to clap her own chubby palms as Max snapped as many pictures as he could. Iggy was recording a video on his phone next to Max and as much as Max knew that Iggy was done with kids, the smile on his face was telling a different story.

“Now you have to smash it Lu.” Lauren chimed up with a smirk as the clapping died down and Luna looked around for what to do next. 

“Winnie!” Luna didn’t understand what the directions were, but she was always happy to be talked to. Max walked over to stand next to Helen behind Luna’s high chair and took the baby’s hand and guided it down to the cupcake. As soon as Luna felt the texture of the frosting her face contorted. Slowly she brought her hand to her mouth, waiting for Max to pull it away like he always did when she grabbed something. But since he did not, she tasted it, and a big smile bloomed on her face as she let out a shout of glee.

“Well it’s good to know that she is not a tough critic.” Vijay had offered to back the cake for the baby’s first birthday. He had said that it was a trial run for his grandson’s, who he had also mentioned was very handsome in case Max wanted to set Luna up. Luna dove into smashing the cake as the adults around her talked. Floyd began cutting slices of the large cake for Helen to pass around, and Max made a futile attempt to wipe the baby. 

After the cake, everybody bid their farewells. Iggy and Vijay had loaded the dishwasher, Floyd and Lauren had cleaned up the decorations and Helen had offered to bathe Luna so Max could get ready for bed himself. Once he was showered and in his comfiest pajamas he walked down the hall to Luna’s room. He found Helen sitting in a rocking chair with the baby nestled in her arms. Luna’s eyelids were fighting a losing battle to sleep with each rock but the baby seemed determined to hold out to the end. Once Helen had closed the book Max walked over to take the baby.

“No, Ennie, no.” Luna whined, being taken from one of her favorite spots.

“I know Luna, I don’t like it when Helen leaves either.” Max placed a kiss to the top of the baby’s head. “But, Dr. Sharpe has a busy day being the coolest doctor at NA tomorrow so the least we can do is let her get some sleep. Even if you are the birthday girl.”

Helen just rolled her eyes at his comment and leaned in to give Luna a kiss. 

“I’ll see you two in the morning.” Max could hear Helen picking up her things from the living room and locking the door. He placed Luna in her crib and turned off the light. Walking out of the room he stopped in the hallway to take it all in. 

Luna was one. It had officially been one year since the accident. And so much had changed in the span of a year. But one thing hadn’t. He was still irrevocably in love with Dr. Helen Sharpe. The only thing that had changed was that he was finally able to admit it to himself.


	3. Flower Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Floyd and Lauren have a very serious question to ask their favorite three year old.

Max and Helen knew that Luna would be thrilled when Floyd and Lauren had asked her to be the flower girl for their upcoming nuptials. The engaged couple had brought it up while they were grabbing dinner and Lauren had insisted that they do something fun to announce it. Lauren wasn’t the most child-friendly person but she did have a special soft spot for Luna. It probably stemmed back to the nights where she would stay with Helen while she watched the little girl.

Floyd and Lauren had decided that they would take the little girl out on a “Luna Day” before they asked her. Helen had been especially grateful, since she was just out of her first trimester and still experiencing morning sickness. Floyd had stopped by Saturday morning to take Luna out to breakfast with Max. The plan was to pick up Lauren up after her shift while Max went in to do some paper work and take Luna to the children’s museum and grab ice cream. Hopefully if everything went well, by the end of the day they would have a very tired out Luna and a flower girl for their wedding.

Walking into the small diner that had opened recently down the street from Max and Helen’s place, the men found a booth in the back and asked the hostess for a high chair for Luna. This morning Helen’s morning sickness had been particularly bad, so Max had let the little girl dress herself and had put her hair in a messy top knot. And while a unicorn printed dress with a black leather jacket was certainly a look, the three-year-old seemed quite proud of herself.

“What do you want to eat for breakfast, Lulu?” Max asked after snapping a picture of her looking like a big girl to send to his wife.

“Roni please, daddy.”

“Luna, you can’t have macaroni for breakfast.” Max tried to reason with his little girl. He could see Floyd laughing behind the menu that he was holding in front of his face. “What about eggs?”

“No.” Luna answered plainly.

“Oatmeal?” Luna had not been a picky eater at the beginning, but she had entered a phase recently. 

“No roni.”

“Honey, I am not letting you have macaroni. How about yogurt and I’ll give you a slice of my toast?” Max bargained. 

“With fruit?”

“Of course, with fruit. As much fruit as you want.” Max smiled as Luna seemed to accept the deal. “You see what you have to look forward to?” Max asked Floyd. In response Floyd just barked back a laugh.

“Lauren says that we are stopping after one because she already knows that kid’ll have me wrapped around their finger. I don’t know how you guys will be able to handle two more.” The thought of the twins growing inside of Helen’s belly put a bashful smile on Max’s face. But his thoughts were interrupted by the waiter coming to take their orders.

After breakfast, the trio made their way to New Amsterdam. Bidding farewell to Max in the lobby, Floyd picked up Luna and carried her to his office to wait for Lauren. While they waited Luna busied herself with coloring a picture while Reynolds looked through a few files at his desk. At the sound of a small knock on the door they both looked up.

“Aunt Winnie!” Luna launched herself from her spot on the floor, directly hitting Bloom right in the legs. 

“Hey there Lu.” Lauren picked up the Luna and settled her on her hip as she made her way over to her fiancé. She waited for him to stand up before leaning up to place a peck on his lips.

“Eww.” The toddler tried to wriggle away in disgust. Lauren just laughed and tickled her side.

“No eww, your mummy and daddy kiss all the time.” Lauren pointed out. “You ready to go?” She asked Floyd. He nodded and reached out his arms to carry Luna, but she insisted that she wanted to walk and hold both of their hands. 

Somewhere towards the middle of the trip Lauren was trying to figure out how Max had convinced them that the museum would be a fun outing. The toddler had the most fun in the ball pit, where Floyd was constantly on edge about losing her and Lauren couldn’t make it through the first two minutes without mentioning the number of germs. Then when they had been waiting to play at the interactive wall a little boy had come up and cut in line in front of Luna. Which of course had resulted in the little girl trying to stand up for herself but the older boy had pushed her to the ground. Luna had started crying immediately and Floyd had run over to scoop her up while Lauren had gone over to tell the boy’s guardian just what she thought about the situation.

But now the three-year-old was appeased. Lauren and Floyd had bought her a gift at the gift shop and she was happily licking away at her ice cream cone.

“Thanks for the ice cweam Uncle Odie and Aunt Winnie.” Luna said as ice cream dribbled down her chin and hand.

“You are very welcome Lu, we also had something that we wanted to ask you.” Lauren said, looking over at her fiancé and placing her hand over his, stroking it lovingly with her thumb. “How would you like to be the flower girl in our wedding? You would get to wear a pretty dress and walk down the aisle, and be in our wedding pictures, and when I say yes to Uncle Odie you will be standing right next to me.”

“I get to be there on your princess day?” Luna’s parents had gotten married a little over a year ago and she constantly asked to look through the pictures of her mummy in the long dress. Luna had been in all of the pictures since Max and Helen wanted to stress that they were all becoming a family and even had a few of the pictures in her room. 

“Yes you would.” Floyd smiled at the look of pure excitement that came over Luna’s face. He was pretty sure that he could see her little body visibly shaking from all of the emotion. Being weary of her dropping the cone Floyd removed it from her tiny grasp. 

“I can’t wait!” Luna screamed throwing her arms around Lauren’s neck.

Back at his office, Max received a text from Reynolds. It read “she said yes!” with an attached picture of a smiling Lauren and Luna.


	4. Anniversary Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because sometimes things can be complicated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This features a preteen Luna! Which doesn't mean that there won't be more little Luna. I just wanted to write this one.

Helen had promised Luna that she would give her her phone back at the end of the night. However, that had been an hour ago, and with two hours left before they were going to leave, the almost thirteen-year-old was dying. Her Uncle Iggy had decided to throw a ten year wedding anniversary party for her parents. The girl looked around the room for her youngest siblings. Dexter and Yara were dancing together in the middle of the dance floor next to their parents. Luna smiled to herself, seeing her mother throw her head back in laughter as Yara scolded Dex for stomping on her toes. To his credit, the eight-year-old boy was full of apologies.

The night had been filled with well wishes from their colleagues, all talking about how Helen and Max were two of the fiercest people they had met when it came to patients, but when you put them in a room together that all melted. Her dad had looked on lovingly as a man had described being the surgeon who had operated on her brother, Benji, and how Max and Helen had sat with the little boy for days even before they had thought about adopting him.

“They already had a house full of kids at home.” The young doctor had spoken. “Here you have these two amazing physicians, juggling as many balls as it seems they can manage. But every morning that I went to check on Benji, there was Max. In the room, just making sure he was okay. The things that they do for the hospital, are nothing compared to how much love there is in that family. To Max and Helen!” He cheersed. The crowd roared, back holding up their glasses, and Luna caught the aforementioned Benji blushing as their mother placed a kiss to his freckled cheek.

For the most part she spent the rest of the night talking to her aunt and uncles, or convincing Benji to sneak back to the dessert table with her. Max had whisked her away for a few dances, and Helen had also danced with her original baby Goodwin. But as the night went on, Luna found herself alone at a small table watching over her brother and sister who had slumped down in the seats next to her, asleep. Only one hour left before they could leave.

A woman had come and sat in one of the empty seats at the table. Her face was flush from all of the dancing, and a slight sheen of sweat was causing her brown hair to stick to her forehead slightly. A smile danced on her lips as she looked out at the dance floor.

“Can you imagine that they’ve only been married for ten years?” The woman wondered aloud before turning her attention to Luna. “I started her only a few months ago, I transferred over from the oncology unit at Mercy. And Dr. Sharpe was one of the first people that I met. She’s amazing. Then I saw her with Dr. Goodwin and I asked one of the other nurses if they were married and she just laughed in my face. Of course, their married. I mean when you see them together, it’s like they share a brain. I just hope that one day I can find a person that looks at me the way that your dad looks at your mom. They give me hope that my soulmate is out there.”

Luna smiled at the stranger’s compliment. Subconsciously her hand moved up to the necklace that she wore practically everyday. It was a casual piece of jewelry, but her grandparents had given it to her on her tenth birthday. It had belonged to Georgia, and matched both of their eyes. “They really do love each other.” Luna responded.

“They have that type of love that you’ll read about when you’re old like me and read romance novels to pass your time. The kind that the authors say crosses countries, lifetimes, all of that.” The woman gave her a bright smile. “You’re so lucky to be adopted into that kind of family. Two highly successfully doctors who love each and adopt and volunteer and all that jazz. It’s like a walking world peace ad.”

“Amber, I don’t know if I like you over here talking to my daughter with your fourth glass of wine in your hand.” Helen joked as she came and sat down at the table next to Dexter.

“I was only telling her how lucky she is to have you and Dr. Goodwin for parents Dr. Sharpe.” The woman, Amber responded as she stood to stretch her legs. “But I think you may be on to something with that wine. If you ladies will excuse me, I have to use the ladies room.” The lady smiled at Luna and her mother before exiting the table and Helen politely told her bye.

“Well Lu-bug good news, I told dad that clearly Dex and Yara are done for the night, plus I think I saw Benji sneaking his third slice of cake. So since we don’t want a monster on our hands we may be leaving sooner rather than later.” Helen conspiratorly whispered. However, Luna didn’t seem to be in the joking mood. Instead the young girl just thumbed the necklace hanging around her neck. “Luna what’s wrong?”

“In almost of the speeches tonight, everyone called you the love of dad’s life. They all talked about how the moment they met both of you, it was so clear that you were in love.” Then biting down on her lip, as if she was unsure she wanted to continue, she pressed on. “Even the people that have known you since dad moved here, they all talk about how he was a goner from the start. Did dad love Georgia? Did he ever love my mom?”

“Of course, he did Luna.” Helen knew that the relationship between Max and Georgia had been a complicated one. But she also had been there for Max after Georgia had passed, and she knew that wherever feelings had been at the end, that Max had loved Georgia.

“But, how could he love the both of you? He had to love you, more right? Like maybe he loved Georgia, but not as much as he loved you?” Luna was 12. Her friends had said that they were in love, when they talked about their crushes at school. But in reality, their world was filled with braces, and acne, and gossipy texts sent during classes. She knew that love was what she saw at home, and she had never questioned that until tonight.

“You know what, I think that I have an answer, but maybe it would be best for you to talk to your dad about it. I’ll gather up the munchkins, and you go find Ben, and I’ll tell your dad that we are going home.” Helen reached out her hand to cup Luna’s cheek, but wasn’t sure if it was the comfort that her daughter would want. So instead she settled for patting her hand as she rustled awake the twins.

The car ride home was quiet expect for Benji talking a mile a minute. The curly headed boy had too much cake, but his younger siblings were immune to his onslaught of stories from the party that they had all attended, as they slept peacefully. Helen had told Max about Luna’s question, and she could see her husband sitting in the passenger’s seat, thinking a mile a minute as he gave short responses to their son. Luna as well was not her usual chatty self. When they got home, Helen offered to put the other kids to bed so that Max and Luna could talk in private.

“Mum told me that you asked if I loved Georgia.” Max remembered the months leading up to Georgia’s death. They had rocky moments. But he also remembered the moment that he had been told that he wasn’t going to be able to have both Luna and Georgia. It had felt like a fist was wrapped around his heart and wouldn’t let up. “Luna, I married Georgia because I was in love with her.”

“But not like you love mum.” Luna supplied. Max wasn’t sure if she was asking a question or telling him an answer to a question that he had been trying to settle for those first few months when he moved here. He hadn’t been about to cheat on his wife, but he remembered those days in his office where he would dream about Helen walking through his door. He just wanted to talk to her for hours on the roof, in “their place”. How he would hold her for hugs that weren’t necessary, or reach for her hand. The fact that he wanted to be the first person that she went to for comfort, and that he wanted to do the same with her.

Even in a world where Georgia was still alive, it was hard to imagine that he wouldn’t eventually end up with Helen. It wouldn’t have been the same timeline, and they wouldn’t have the same kids, but he knew that this had to be endgame.

“I did love Georgia in a different way than I love Helen. But if I could go back in time and change things so that I met Helen when I was in college and we meet and fall in love and have kids, I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world Lu.” Max pulled his oldest daughter into his arm for a long hug. “Your mum and I think the world of you Luna. All of you kids. All of you had a tough time getting to us, and we are so grateful that we get to be your parents.”

“I love you two too.” Luna said, her response muffled against his shirt. Pulling back slightly she asked a question that she didn’t realize had been bothering her. “I just felt guilty, because I’m happy with our family and I was watching everyone talk about how much you love mum tonight and I realized I don’t want a different family. Even if that meant Georgia was alive, and I’ve never really thought about that before.”

“Oh Lu-” Max didn’t know that this was what Luna had been worried about.

“I don’t want Georgia to be dead. But I don’t want a different family. I want you, and mum, and Benji, and Yara and Dex. But if Georgia is alive then they aren’t. I’m terrible. Georgia died having me and I can’t even be grateful.”

“That’s not true.” Max kept repeating as she cried into his chest. “That’s not true, because if you felt that way, you wouldn’t wear this.” Max reached between them and grabbed the necklace. “You always carry a little piece of your mother with you. And every time that I see you I see this amazing blend of me, and Georgia, and Helen. You have a lot to deal with, but that’s why we are here. I’m glad that you brought this up. We try to get a reading on you guys, but this really helps us out.” Max placed a soft kiss to Luna’s head and then guided them to the couch. They snuggled up under a blanket watching late night tv until Helen came downstairs.

“You don’t get to be a Luna hog all night mister. I demand some time with our oldest too.” Helen pouted as she stood in front of the pair.

“Excuse me, I believe you meant to say doctor.” Max joked standing up and stretching. “And I’ll be waiting up for you Dr. Sharpe.” He winked before jogging away before she could say anything else.

Rolling her eyes Helen sat down on the ottoman across from Luna.

“I didn’t mean to mess up your night mum.” Luna apologized right away.

“You didn’t mess up anything. Can I let you in on a little secret?” Luna nodded, slightly intrigued, but still worried about what Helen would say next.

“I was engaged before your dad.”

“Really?”

“Really. But we didn’t have kids, so I guess there was really no way for you to know unless we told you. But I was engaged to an amazing man named Mohammed. He was wonderful, and funny, and handsome. We had planned everything out.” A wistful look crossed Helen’s face.

“What happened to him?” Luna asked.

“He died. It was a brain aneurysm. So much like with Georgia it was sudden, and it wasn’t something I was prepared for. But I don’t think you are ever prepared to lose someone that you love so much.”

“But,” Helen continued. “Because I had loved him so deeply and fully, I was hesitant when it came to your father. Because I realized that though it was a little different, I loved Max just as much. And I refuse to cheapen my relationship with Mohammed by thinking that his love prepared me to love Max. I believe that in another world Mohammed and I are happily married and have a house full of kids.”

“And in another world Max and Georgia have you and maybe a few more siblings.” Helen acknowledged before continuing. “But since I loved Mohammed, and I love your father, I knew it would be possible for Max to have loved Georgia and love me. I never doubt those two facts for a second.”

“But in our version of reality we don’t have Mohammed or Georgia physically with us. And it’s okay to be sad about that. But they are very much the reason why we are a family, even if nobody else brought them up tonight.”

Luna sat there for a while, soaking in what her mum had just said. It felt weird sometimes thinking of what her parents had been like before her. But she felt comforted by the fact that even if they had all experienced their fair share of heartbreak, that they now had each other to lean on. Standing up from the couch, Luna pulled her mother in for a long hug.


	5. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short snippet of big sister Luna and Sharpwin realizing they hit the jackpot with their family.

“Luna...Luna wake up.” The quiet whisper was accompanied by the gentle shoving of a small hand on her shoulder. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes Luna came face to face with her little sister. “Luna I miss mummy and daddy.”

They were spending the next two weeks with Max’s parents while Max and Helen attended a conference and medical conference followed by their anniversary trip. So all four of the Goodwin kids were bunking at their grandparent’s house. The boys were sharing the guest room down the hall and Luna and Yara were in Max’s old bedroom with his bunk bed.

Typically, the twins would sleep in a room together or share the bed with their grandparents. But this year Max and Helen had changed their sleeping arrangement at home since Benji and Dexter preferred nightlights and Yara liked for the room to be dark. So Granny had insured that each outlet in the boys’ room had a nightlight and had put curtains over the window in the girls’.

Luna could see the tears glimmering in Yara’s brown eyes even in the dimly lit room. Nightmares were unusual for Yara. Typically, Dex was the one that was more easily spooked. But Yara did have a harder time adjusting to new settings. Even though she had been to their grandparents’ house at least one time a year since she was born, Yara was an extreme daddy’s girl. So not having Max here with her like they usually did was throwing her for a loop. Readjusting the bonnet on the little girl’s head, Luna scooted over to the edge of her twin bed so that her back was against the wall.

“Did you have a nightmare?” The 8-year-old asked. Yara just nodded pitifully as she rubbed her eyes. Patting the empty space next to her, Luna beckoned her younger sister into the bed. Due to the lack of space the two girls cuddled up tightly, Luna bringing Yara to her chest and wrapping her in her arms. “You’re safe in my arms. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“I know.” Yara yawned against Luna’s neck. Luna pulled her little sister closer, rubbing her back and singing lullabies until she could feel her breathing even out.

The next morning when Max’s mom walked in to wake the girls up she found her granddaughters curled around each other, sleeping peacefully. Snapping a quick picture, she sent it to their parents, smiling to herself as she hit send.

On the other side of the country Helen awoke to the sound of her phone buzzing from an incoming message. Feeling around for her phone she grabbed it and squinted at the screen to see the new message from her mother-in-law. Pressing open she let out a delighted squeal that ended up waking her husband.

“I only know of a few things in this world that can put a smile that big on your face.” Max looked gratefully at his wife. Even after being married to her all this time, getting to wake up to her was still the best start to his day.

“Look at our children. They really are quite adorable.” Helen leaned over to show him the picture, whispering conspiratorially. 

“Our children? How come when Yara decided that all she needed for two weeks at Granny’s was a suitcase of stuffed animals and half melted ice cream sandwiches she was _my_ child and now they are miraculously _our _children?”

“Because,” Helen stressed. “That is a Max Goodwin idea if I have ever heard one.”

“Maybe the half-thought out aspect. But you have to admit, her speech about how none of them deserved to get left behind was full Helen Sharpe.”

“Well maybe that’s because we are just two peas in a pod.” Helen sassed back, giving her husband a quick peck on the lips.


	6. In Another Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A world where the accident goes differently

“Luna, Gigi is here.” The seven-year-old’s mother called from the doorway as she invited in Max’s mother.

“I need help with my suitcase.” Luna’s tiny voice carried down the stairway.

“Connor, help Luna with her bag please?” Georgia called up the stairs to her eldest step son. “Congrats on another grandchild. Luna has been excited to meet him since Max sent the text yesterday evening.” Georgia smiled at the woman who used to be her mother-in-law. In the last six years since her divorce from Max she hadn’t seen the woman much, but Luna’s eyes always lit up when she talked about her Gigi.

“He’s a healthy 7 pounds 3 ounces. A head full of dark hair, and the cuddliest baby ever. We are so in love.” The older woman gushed. “I know Lu can’t wait to meet him.”

“Gigi!” The bespectacled young child threw herself into her grandmother’s arms; leaving her teenaged step brother to carry her bag.

“Are you ready to meet your little brother?” Max’s mom asked her oldest grandchild. Luna nodded enthusiastically her pigtails flying everywhere. “Well good, your sister is already in the car.” Taking her bag, she led Luna to the driveway.

“They had the baby!” Was the first thing Luna heard as she opened the door. Sitting in the backseat was the now-middle Goodwin child, Lauren Sharpe-Goodwin. The little girl was the spitting image of Helen only a shade or two darker than her mother, with curly black ringlets of hair that were held back by a hair band. “I missed you.” She added to her sister as an afterthought.

_Following the ambulance being sideswiped by the stolen ambulance both Georgia and Dr. Lauren Bloom had been in the ICU for an extended period of time. However, while Georgia was able to eventually recover from her injuries, Lauren’s body had succumbed to the trauma after a couple of weeks. It had been hard on everyone, but especially Floyd and Helen. Floyd took the first job offer that he could get away from New Amsterdam, which for a surgeon of his caliber came quick. And Helen…_

_Well when Helen went up to a tired and disheveled Max two weeks after Lauren’s passing asking for a sabbatical he thought it was in her best interest. He was overwhelmed with a one month old newborn and was still in the process of helping Georgia with her recovery. He felt absolutely useless, but he knew that he could help Helen in this way. _

_Once a year was getting close to being up though, he had received an email from Helen that she would not be returning. Their correspondence had been somewhat sparse, but she had given him monthly updates. In this email though she was clear about leaving her position at New Amsterdam, and choosing to stay in England to continue her work as Dr. Helen. _

_And in his heart Max was sad, but he wasn’t upset. New Amsterdam had a lot of ghosts now, and he understood not wanting to come back to this place. About six months after the accident, once the hospital had settled from the reality of losing three of its top doctors, and Georgia was healed enough that they could no longer ignore the reasons why their marriage wasn’t working, Max felt like he needed a new start too. _

_A year removed from the accident, conversations with Georgia were no longer about if she needed bandages changed or what time her follow up appointments were. Now they were back to the same old dance of wondering if Max was more dedicated to saving the hospital than saving their marriage._

_Max sat in the hospital cafeteria four months later eating his sandwich that he had picked up from the small stand next to the gift shop since he had once again forgotten to buy groceries. One of the things he was realizing he was always forgetting since he and Georgia had decided to separate. The television across from his was muted but had subtitles. Nothing would have prepared him to see Dr. Helen Sharp on the screen across from him._

_She looked different. Maybe it was a faint sadness in her eyes? Maybe like him she constantly replayed what she could have done differently that day almost a full year and a half ago now. But either way from the subtitles flashing across the bottom of the screen it was clear Helen was still on her mission to help as many people as she could. It brought him some comfort to know that Helen was still Helen._

_“Did you hear what happened at Helen’s hospital?” Iggy asked one day over the phone as Max sat in his new office at the Cedars Chicago Hospital. The two of them never really discussed Helen, Floyd, or Lauren much. Well at least not with their first names. Something about it felt too familiar and highlighted their loss. _

_“Yeah apparently the board has been misdirecting reports of elder abuse. The NHS is coming down hard on them. It’s bad… really bad.” Iggy explained. “I actually reached out to Helen about it last week. I think she’s ready to get the hell out of England.”_

_“I did not hear about it. But I have an inkling that you had an ulterior motive for telling me that last bit of info.” Max pointed out._

_“I mean you just became the new medical director at a great hospital. I saw that you guys recently got that cancer care grant. You know a great oncologist. I’m just putting the pieces together for you.” Iggy admitted._

_So, Max had reached out to Helen the next day. When she applied the board had convinced Max to use any legal means necessary to get Helen to join. The interview with Helen had been so similar to old times that at one point he found himself imagining a world where all of the bad things hadn’t happened. But her last question was a sobering reminder that they had lived a lot of life in the past two years._

_“Max, this has been great talking to you. I am very interested in the position. I do want to know however what infrastructure and supports the hospital has to support parents. Particularly single parents of young children.”_

_“I can say firsthand that has also been a priority and we do not feel that you should have to choose between being a great physician and a great parent. When you choose to have children we are leading the field in parental leave flexibility as well as having a very strict no-pregnancy-discrimination policy amongst our staff. Also, the daycare facilities are great.”_

_“Well, I’m not planning to be pregnant again soon…” Helen trailed off. “I actually- I have a daughter. She’s 9 months old.” At the mention of her little girl Helen got a dreamy look in her eyes._

_“Congrats, that’s wonderful.” Max knew how much Helen wanted motherhood. “What’s her name?”_

_“Lauren. Which I’m sure the other Lauren would have rolled her eyes at but secretly loved.” Helen joked._

_“Well if she’s anything like Bloom, I’m sure you are in for the ride of your life.” _

_“Oh she is a handful. How is Luna?”_

_“She’s wonderful. She’s at the age where she’s actually funny? Like she’s starting to get how to joke. And smart as all hell. I had her for the last month as Georgia and her boyfriend moved down here, but actually, she’s at her mom’s place this week so I’ve just been living off of videos.”_

_“She sounds amazing. I’ll have to meet her in person once I start the job.”_

Helen moving back to America, to his hospital had solidified what Max had known about her from the start, they were better together. Things didn’t move quickly however. Helen was a single parent adjusting to life in America without her family to help with her child. She also didn’t want the optics at the hospital to look bad.

So, for the first two years they were just friends who had two daughters who were obsessed with each other. But then Max decided that ignoring the elephant in the room was pointless and within a year they were married. And now just a few months shy of their three-year wedding anniversary they had now welcomed another child.

Luna and Lauren each held their grandmother’s hand as they walked into the hospital nursery room. At the sight of her two girl’s Helen started to cry. They ran up to Helen to make sure that she was okay, but she assured them that she was just tired and happy to see them.

“Can we meet him?” Luna asked once she was sure Helen was okay.

“Of course.” Max carefully lifted the baby from the bassinet next to him and squatted so that the small girls could get a good look at the littlest Goodwin.

“Lu, Laur, this is your little brother Leon.” 


End file.
